A Sermon on How To Evaluate Your Faith in God

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "We love flattery even when we see through it, and are not deceived by it, for it shows that we are of importance enough to be courted." That’s right isn’t it. There is not one of us who is not at least modestly overwhelmed when we are given a genuine compliment. When I have struggled real hard on a sermon and I feel it comes out right, nothing is sweeter than the compliments of people whom I respect. Compliments are indeed life giving, but they are even more so when they come from unexpected sources.

Well, we have received a compliment from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. He is one of those people who proclaimed the judgment of God, and the sin of humankind.

But in our text today Isaiah breaks the mold. To the people of Israel, to the New Israel, and therefore to the Christian church, he said, "And you shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord." Isaiah was not a prophet of doom He was the great proclaimer of good news. And Isaiah is throwing us a beautiful bouquet of roses. He is saying that those of us who gather from Sunday to Sunday are holy people, redeemed of the Lord.

Some people have no trouble accepting such a compliment. Mark Twain said: "There is nothing you can say in answer to a compliment. I have been complimented myself a great many times, and they always embarrass me. I always feel that they have not said enough."

But for most of us, Emerson was right. We love flattery even when we see through it, are not deceived by it, and know that it is partially not true. Take Isaiah’s statement, for example. How many of us dare to consider ourselves holy people, the redeemed of the Lord? And yet, maybe we are exactly that.

The primary, fundamental, and crucial element in the life of a Christian is faith in God. If we are faithful people, then we are made holy people, redeemed of the Lord. How faithful are we? If we are faithful people, we are deserving of Isaiah’s compliment that we are holy people.

In the sermon this morning I want to give you what I think are ways you can begin to evaluate your faith.

THE FIRST WAY TO EVALUATE YOUR FAITH IS THAT FAITH IN GOD IS ALWAYS MIXED WITH DOUBT. One of the most famous stories in life of Jesus illustrates the close connection between faith and doubt. A man came close to Jesus and asked him to heal his son who was an epileptic. Jesus asked the father, "How long has he had this?" The father replied, "From his childhood ... but if you can do anything, have pity and help us." A reasonable request, but Jesus was very cautious with him. Jesus said, "What do you mean ‘IF I can?" Then he said, "All things are possible to him who believes."

It seems like a put-down, doesn’t it? The poor father had failed again. But the father wasn’t easily put down. He came back to Jesus with one of the most honest confessions to be found in the Bible, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief."

O Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief!

THE SECOND CATEGORY OF FAITH IS THAT FAITH IN GOD IS ALWAYS TIED TO LIFE. Faith in God is rooted in life, and grows out of an encounter with life. What I mean is that faith is NOT primarily a set of doctrines to which you give assent. As a matter of fact I want to make a radical statement: You can have all of the right doctrines about God and the Bible and prayer and still not have faith. That’s because faith in God is always tied to life. Faith is your response in life to the grace of God. Faith is not just a matter of the head.

A minister wrote about a conversation with a parishioner. She was going through a "mild crisis of faith" as she put it. But other than that, her existence was extraordinarily smooth and happy. She seemed to have taken hold of her life in recent years, and her children had all developed, and yet she confessed to a void feeling inside of her. "I’m not sure that I have very much faith left," she said. "I’m not sure that I believe."

The minister thought for a moment, not knowing what to say. Then from somewhere came this question: "What would you do with more faith now if you had it?"

Faith is something you use. Faith is about how you face life when someone you love more than life itself dies. Faith is how you respond when your son comes home and says, "Mom, Dad, I’m gay." Faith has to do with what happens when you lose your job, or when you grow old, or when you get kicked out of school.

The point is that the gift of faith is a gift. God does not hand out a strong faith to every person. What would we do with more faith. My experience is that people who have a great purpose are people of great faith. It is only when we attempt great things for God that we can expect great faith from God. Listen, when you need faith you will have faith. After all, Jesus said that only a little faith is all you need -- faith like a grain of mustard seed -- to remove mountains.

Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief!

NOW LET ME OFFER A FINAL WAY THAT YOU CAN BEGIN TO EVALUATE YOUR FAITH IN GOD. FAITH COMES THROUGH THE PERSON OF JESUS.

You may think that that’s easy -- believe me, it isn’t simple. We may have no problem confessing faith in God or even believing that God sent his Son. But when we are asked to center our faith on Jesus of Nazareth, we prefer to politely slide off that one.

Everyone who has joined the church, I have asked, "Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and do you accept him as your Lord and Savior." Notice something about that confession. Believing that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God" is an intellectual question. But when we pledge to accept Jesus as "Lord," it is a matter of obedience to Jesus and trying to follow him -- you promise that he will be your master! "Believing that Jesus is the Christ" I think is easy. "Accepting him as my Lord" -- well, that becomes a life-long quest.

I have found it true over the years that my friends, the people I associate with make a big difference in how I behave. Is it not true that when we hang around some people we find ourselves drifting into their ways of expression. When we are in the company of some people we are stimulated and have a positive, optimistic outlook. We laugh more. We feel good. When we are with other people, we tend to become cynical or even bitter. We go away cold and depressed. Who we associate with does make a difference.

On television the other day they told about a study that was made to find out why some of the soldiers are brave and others not. Their conclusion was the soldier is not brave because he has always been brave. The soldier is brave because he wants the esteem and respect of his buddies. He just cannot let his friends down. He doesn’t want for them to see him as a coward. They made the statement that the soldier does not "die for his country:" he "dies for his buddies."

If Jesus is your friend, if he is part of your life, if you behave, are honest, try to help others because Jesus is your Lord, then you have faith. You have come to trust him, and that is what faith is. You may not know what you believe about the sacred doctrines of the church, but if you walk with Jesus as Lord, then you are a person of faith.

Lord, I believe; help mine unbelief!

So back to Isaiah. Are we holy and redeemed of the Lord? I think we can say yes if we are faithful people. It is our trust in God as revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ, that is the identifying factor.